If you were injured in Irvine because of another person’s recklessness or negligence, you may have the right to pursue compensation for any out-of-pocket expenses you may have suffered. Whether you were injured in a rideshare accident on your way to work or in a dog bite incident at the Irvine Spectrum, you deserve to hold those accountable for their actions and get the necessary compensation you need to put your accident behind you.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our firm understands how an accident can impact a person’s life both emotionally and financially and are committed to fight for people’s rights. As a result of our firm’s dedication and commitment, we have recovered more than $2 billion for injured clients and we will continue to do our duty to provide accident victims the legal representation they deserve.

On top of it all, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning all attorney fees are collected from the recovery rather than charged upfront, and if we don’t win you don’t pay. Call us today at (949) 207-9619 or fill out our online contact form for a free case consultation.

Why Hire an Irvine Personal Injury Lawyer?

While it is not mandatory to hire a personal injury lawyer, however, hiring one can help protect your rights and watch out for your best interests especially against opposing counsel and insurance companies. In fact, insurance companies may investigate your accident and try to pressure you to accept a low settlement offer before you fully understand the extent of your injuries.

Furthermore, an adjuster may ask about prior medical conditions and even dispute how the accident happened in an attempt to lower the value of your claim. These disputes can directly affect how much an insurance company ultimately agrees to pay, but hiring a personal injury lawyer gives you someone responsible for protecting the legal side of your recovery. This includes presenting evidence showing what happened, negotiating with other parties, who was responsible, how you were injured, and what the accident has cost you financially and personally.

Why Choose West Coast Trial Lawyers for an Irvine Personal Injury Case?

When you choose West Coast Trial Lawyers, you are choosing a law firm with extensive experience and with an established track record of winning cases and securing just compensation for their clients.

Whether you have been involved in a rear-end accident or suffered catastrophic injuries from a truck accident, our legal team will examine the details of your case and draft a personalized legal strategy that protects your rights.

What You Get When You Hire West Coast Trial Lawyers

An In-House Trial Team– From the moment your case begins, our attorneys develop cases with the intent to go to trial so they are prepared for any developments.
Direct Access to Your Legal Team– When clients sign on, they receive direct access to the attorneys and legal professionals responsible for handling their case.
Experience With Major Defendants– Our firm has extensive experience pursuing claims involving major insurers, corporations, commercial defendants, and other well-resourced parties.
An Irvine Office– Our office at 2955 Main Street, Suite 110 gives injured people convenient local access to West Coast Trial Lawyers in Irvine.

Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Irvine

Personal injury law encompasses many different accidents and forms of negligence. Due to the nature of personal injury accidents, each claim can create different questions involving liability, insurance coverage, evidence, medical treatment, and damages. As such, West Coast Trial Lawyers handles a variety of cases from the following:

What Should You Do After an Accident in Irvine?

No matter what kind of accident you have been involved in, your health should be the very first priority. However, if you are physically able to, it is important to begin documenting what happened by taking photos and videos of the accident scene, your injuries, any significant property damage, and witnesses.

Irvine’s mix of office buildings, residential communities, parking structures, and commercial centers can also contribute to your case as they may carry numerous potential sources of surveillance footage. Furthermore, you should also be cautious when speaking with another party’s insurer because any statements made shortly after an accident can later become important if liability or the severity of your injuries is disputed.

How Do You Prove a Personal Injury Claim in California?

Most personal injury claims are based on negligence and under California Civil Code § 1714, negligent parties are responsible for all injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their person or property. Meaning, injury victims will need to provide the necessary evidence in order to prove that the responsible party owed a legal duty to provide reasonable care, failed to do so, and their conduct resulted in injury, property damage, or death.

What Kind of Evidence Do You Need to Prove a Personal Injury Claim?

The type of necessary evidence you need to prove a personal injury claim will entirely depend on what happened. For example, a car accident may involve photographs, collision reports, witness statements, dashcam footage, surveillance video, cellphone records, or electronic vehicle information.

Meanwhile a premises liability case may rely on maintenance records, inspection procedures, incident reports, surveillance footage, photographs, or evidence showing how long a dangerous condition existed. No matter what kind of claim you have, the strength of a personal injury case depends on more than how badly someone was hurt and how the evidence connects another party’s conduct to the injury.

What if Your Child Is Injured in an Irvine Bicycle or E-Bike Accident?

The City of Irvine has a substantial bicycle network with numerous paths and rental options, but if your child was injured in a bicycle accident, it can raise questions about whether a motorist was involved, if a negligent bicyclist caused the accident, or if the accident was caused by poorly designed bike lanes.

Furthermore, the type of electric bicycle matters in an accident because the Irvine Police Department currently distinguishes between Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 e-bikes. Class 3 e-bikes provide pedal assistance up to 28 mph, require a helmet, and cannot lawfully be operated by riders younger than 16, should a rider violate those rules and cause an accident, they may be held liable for their actions.

What if You Are Injured While Working or Commuting in the Irvine Business Complex?

The Irvine Business Complex contains a significant mix of employment, housing, commercial properties, and transportation connections, and if you were injured while working or commuting to that area, it can create several different legal issues depending on the nature of the accident. For example, a person getting injured at work due to a workplace violation that the employer failed to address can result in a labor claim and potentially a personal injury claim.

Can You Have Both a Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury Claim?

If someone is injured while working, workers’ compensation may become relevant through their employer. However, when a separate third party causes the injury, the worker may also have a personal injury claim against that outside party.

For example, an employee driving between Irvine offices who is struck by a negligent motorist could potentially have workers’ compensation rights through the employer while separately pursuing the driver who caused the collision. These claims can affect one another, particularly when workers’ compensation has already paid medical or wage-loss benefits.

What if You Were Injured at Irvine Spectrum or Another Shopping Center?

Commercial property injuries can involve different liability questions than motor vehicle accidents, because a fall, injury by falling object, parking-lot collision, escalator incident, or another accident at a retail property does not automatically make the business responsible.

Instead, the investigation may focus on what dangerous conditions existed, whether the business created the hazard, whether the business knew about it, and whether any reasonable measures were taken to correct it.

What if a Dangerous Irvine Bikeway, Street, or Traffic Signal Contributed to Your Injury?

Irvine maintains an extensive system of streets, sidewalks, bikeways, trails, signs, and other public transportation infrastructure, and an injury on public-property could mean the city can be held liable for their negligence. However, a government entity is not automatically liable merely because public property could have been safer.

The claim is similar to a standard premises liability claim such as determining who was in control of the condition and whether any reasonable measures were taken. On top of it all, California Government Code § 911.2 requires a claim involving personal injury or death against a public entity to be presented within six months after the claim accrues. That is substantially shorter than the general statute of limitations for ordinary personal injury lawsuits against private defendants.

How Common Are Serious Accidents in Irvine?

According to a 2023 report from the California Office of Traffic Safety, 570 people were killed or injured in traffic collisions in Irvine, but the most notable local figure is the number of younger bicyclists, because Irvine ranked 1st out of 15 cities in its population comparison group for bicyclist victims under age 15. While these numbers do not automatically determine liability in a single accident, it does highlight how often serious accidents can occur and how it can happen to anyone.

Where Are Irvine Personal Injury Lawsuits Filed?

Personal injury lawsuits arising in Irvine generally proceed through the Superior Court of California, County of Orange when California state court is the appropriate forum. However, Orange County’s current court-designation list assigns Irvine unlimited civil matters to the Central Justice Center at 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701 and that courthouse serves all Orange County cities for limited and unlimited civil cases.

However, it is important to note that Orange County currently classifies civil cases involving more than $35,000 as unlimited civil matters, while disputes involving $35,000 or less are generally limited civil matters. With that in mind, certain procedures will need to be filed and it is recommended to hire an attorney to electronically file many documents in limited, unlimited, and complex civil cases.

What Compensation Can You Recover After an Irvine Personal Injury?

Depending on the circumstances, a California personal injury victim may be able to pursue a variety of compensatory damages that covers calculable and incalculable damages. For instance, an injury victim may be able to recover medical expenses, lost wages, physical pain, emotional distress, property damage, and any quality of life adjustments you may need. The exact damages available in a personal injury claim will depend on the circumstances and applicable California law.

How Much Is an Irvine Personal Injury Case Worth?

Due to the nature of personal injury claims, there is no reliable average settlement that determines what an individual Irvine personal injury claim is worth, because two people can experience similar accidents but suffer very different medical, financial, and personal consequences.

While there are personal injury settlement calculators that can give people an estimate for their damages, some factors that can affect case value can include injury severity, number of responsible parties, and available insurance coverage. With that in mind, a case should be evaluated by an experienced local lawyer who uses specific medical records, financial losses, insurance coverage, and liability evidence to give you an accurate settlement average.

What if You Were Partially Responsible for Your Accident?

It is a popular misconception that if you were partially responsible for an accident you are barred from recovering any compensation, but that is beyond the case. The state follows a pure comparative negligence model, as established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co (1975), which means California adopted a system under which responsibility is assessed in proportion to fault, even when the plaintiff shares substantial responsibility for the accident.

For example, if your damages were valued at $100,000 but you were determined to be 20% responsible, your recovery could generally be reduced to $80,000. This makes disputes about fault particularly important because increasing the percentage assigned to the injured person can reduce the amount another party may ultimately owe.

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Irvine?

Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, any legal claim that involves a personal injury or death must be filed within two years from the date of the incident in order for the injured party to recover compensation and hold negligent parties responsible. Any failure to file a claim within that timeframe will result in the state’s statute of limitations taking into effect and the injury victim will automatically waive their right to recover compensation.

However, there are exceptions to the rule depending on certain details of the accident such as the victim’s age, whether they live out-of-state, incarceration and military status, etc. It is important to note that these exceptions are rare and injury victims should not assume that their case is automatically applicable to them. If an accident victim is struggling to get started on the legal process, it is highly recommended to hire an Irvine personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

How Much Does an Irvine Personal Injury Lawyer Cost?

Many personal injury lawyers in Irvine operate on a contingency fee basis, which means clients would not have to pay an upfront attorney fee to hire them for their case. Instead, the client will pay the attorney an agreed upon percentage of their total recovery, but only if their attorney wins their case.

This is designed to ensure that every person regardless of financial status has access to hiring to quality legal representation. Furthermore, the written contingency fee agreement should explain how attorney fees and case-related expenses are handled. Your attorney should also review the agreement before you sign it so you understand the fee structure and how applicable costs may affect the amount ultimately distributed after a settlement or judgment.

Speak With an Irvine Personal Injury Lawyer Today

A serious accident can create problems that extend far beyond the initial injury and can place people in financially straining situations. However, you should not be forced to deal with that and whatever uncertainty you may be facing.

At West Coast Trial Lawyers, our attorneys understand how much a person’s life can change after an accident and are committed to fight for people’s rights to ensure justice is served. With over 25 years of experience and over $2 billion recovered on behalf of clients, our legal team will review your claim, craft a personalized legal strategy, and guide you through the legal process to ensure your rights are protected.

Call us today at (949) 207-9619 or fill out our online contact form for a free case consultation.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions About Irvine Personal Injury Claims

What if the Driver Who Hit Me Was Commuting to Work?

Simply commuting to or from a job generally does not automatically make the driver’s employer responsible. However, the analysis can change when the person is performing a work-related task, traveling between job sites, making deliveries, or otherwise acting within the scope of employment.

Can I Still File a Claim if My Irvine Accident Was Not Reported to Police?

A police report can be useful evidence, but it is not the only way to prove an accident, because photographs, surveillance footage, dashcam video, witness statements, vehicle damage, medical records, insurance communications, and electronic vehicle information can help establish what happened.

What if I Was Hit While Riding on an Irvine Bike Trail?

You may still have a personal injury claim depending on what caused the collision. Potential issues could involve another cyclist, motor vehicle, dangerous trail condition, or other negligent party. If a public bikeway condition contributed to the injury, government-claim procedures may also become relevant.

What if an Accident Happened Near UC Irvine?

The location itself does not change the basic negligence analysis. However, accidents involving pedestrians, bicycles, e-bikes, rideshare vehicles, buses, or university-related property may require identifying who controlled the location and which insurance policies or entities are involved.

What if a Delivery Driver Hit Me While Using Their Phone for Directions?

Even using a phone for GPS purposes still counts as distracted driving, which can be relevant evidence of negligence. However, if the driver was actively performing delivery work, an attorney may also investigate employment status, app records, commercial insurance, and whether another company may have legal responsibility.

Can a Parking Garage or Shopping Center Be Responsible for My Accident?

Potentially, but a property owner is not automatically responsible simply because an accident happened there. Liability may depend on whether a dangerous property condition contributed to the incident and whether the responsible party knew or reasonably should have known about it.

What if Surveillance Video From a Business Was Already Deleted?

Whether deletion creates a separate legal issue depends on when the footage disappeared and whether the business had a duty to preserve it at that time. An attorney may investigate the property’s normal retention policy, when notice of the accident was given, and whether other sources of evidence remain.

What if My Medical Bills Are Higher Than the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Limits?

An attorney may investigate whether other sources of compensation exist. Depending on the accident, those sources could include underinsured motorist coverage, another driver, a vehicle owner, employer, business, commercial policy, or another potentially responsible party.

What Happens if My Injuries Become Worse After I Accept a Settlement?

A final personal injury settlement commonly requires the injured person to release covered parties from further liability arising from the accident. Once an enforceable settlement and release have been completed, discovering that an injury is more serious than expected generally does not mean additional compensation can simply be requested.